Friends. Photography. Adventure.

Marathon Woman

We’re nearly there! Hopefully by this time tomorrow I will be there. ‘There’ being the finish line of the London Marathon. If I’m not, then I definitely didn’t beat my last time, which was 88 seconds into the six hour family. If I knock 89 seconds off to get 5.59.59 I’ll be more than happy!

I’ve written before about being a slow runner and I’ve written about the legacy of school sport. Running is not about speed for me and sport is not about competing, even with myself (I only thought about looking at my split times from my marathon in 2014 four days ago!). For me, sport is about enjoying moving my body through fresh air or water, the feeling of fitness, and relishing the unique headspace that comes from time spent alone exercising. And it’s often about the money!

Tomorrow I will be running for a charity that funds research into premature birth, stillbirth and miscarriage. Last summer my niece was born three months early weighing just 1lb 12oz (800g). She’s eight months old now and her latest trick is pulling out her oxygen tubes and using them as a teething toy! Since I started training, some 24,000 babies in the UK have been born early, over 900 have been stillborn, and 1 in 4 pregnancies have ended in miscarriage. Which makes me pretty proud that my fundraising total is just shy of £3000 and that many more hours of research will be paid for. It’s also pretty overwhelming that a couple of hundred pounds of that has come from people in this community, most of whom I haven’t met in real life or have known just a year or so. THANK YOU! Trust me, the generosity and goodwill gets you out to train in the cold wet winter and it makes the hard bits on the big day easier to cope with.

My fundraising page is in my real name so I’m not linking to it here, but if you want to donate, drop me a message on Twitter at @exposing40 or in the comments below and I’ll send the link. Xxx

PS. I’m laughing in the photo because my partner in crime for the photo had just quipped, ‘put some effort into it, then!’ Cheeky sod! 😉

Go you! I am looking at the clock and thinking that you will be soon be at the finishing line. I hope the rain held off and the cool weather actually worked in your favour. I am sooooo proud of you and excited for you. I have always thought running a marathon would be very cool, sadly I don’t think my body is designed for such an activity. Oh and I love the fact you are laughing in this image, because naked and fun is always sexy

I love this, especially the laugh on your face. Fabulous! I am so curious to know what your time for the marathon was. That is one thing I will never even get started on… a marathon. I admire you doing it!

Good luck, and it’s brilliant that you’re not only doing this for yourself but for charity. Awesome. You look fantastic – the laughter makes it sexier! Great shot, and hope you make the time you want! xx